Most Effective Length for Online Content

Ever wondered if you were writing too much — or too little? What’s the ideal length of a tweet, Facebook post or subject line? Research shows that the most effective tweets are 100 characters long, the most effective Facebooks posts are 40 characters and subject lines should be between 28-29 characters. Kevan Lee writes more about length on the Buffer blog.

When it comes to headlines…

Writing for KISSmetrics, headline expert Bnonn cites usability research revealing we don’t only scan body copy, we also scan headlines. As such, we tend to absorb only the first three words and the last three words of a headline. If you want to maximize the chance that your entire headline gets read, keep your headline to six words.

Of course other aspects besides length should be taken into consideration when determining what makes content successful. Timing, format and your audience are all factors you need to take into consideration before posting. Eye-catching titles and subject lines don’t hurt either. However, following best practices when it comes to length can no doubt give you a leg up.